Lime and Limestone Products can be processed in High Purities and confirming to Bureau of Indian Standards as well as to Indian Pharmacopeia, British Pharmacopeia & United States Pharmacopeia and World Health Organization, etc., which makes it an indispensable natural resource, finding diverse uses in high end applications to various cost effective methods.
Power Station : Lime, being the cheapest alkali, is widely used in the removal of acidic gases released by power stations.
Waste to Energy Incinerator : Similarly when waste is burnt to produce energy, lime can be used to remove the acidic flue gases that are released during the process.
Concrete Dam : Lime and concrete or âlimecreteâ is made by mixing controlled amounts of sand, aggregate, binder and water. Portland Cement is normally used as the binder, although nowadays hydraulic lime or hydrated lime can also be used.
Effluent Treatment : Lime products are widely used to treat waste and effluent water in order to neutralise acids and reduce nutrients such as phosphates and nitrogen.
Sugar Beet/Sugar Processing : Sugar manufacturers use lime in order to precipitate out impurities from beet and sugar cane extracts. Lime is also used to neutralise the odours which are generated by beet washing and transport.
Fish Farming : Fish farmers use hydrated lime to control and raise the pH of acidic ponds and lakes, in order to make the environment more hospitable for aquatic organisms, in particular fish. Lime is therefore used by fish farmers to maintain a suitable habitat for breeding fish.
Drinking Water Works : Hydrated lime and/or milk of lime is used to disinfect water by adjusting its pH and removing hardness, allowing it to be suitable for human consumption.
Sewage Works : Lime can also be added to sewage to adjust pH levels, remove metals and nutrients, and disinfect the sludge so that it can be used either for agriculture, or as landfill.
Plastics : Quicklime reacts with any free water present to form hydrated lime. This removes water from the system and can be useful when dealing with products that are heated during the manufacturing process, such as plastic.
Aluminium : Quicklime is used as a flux in smelting of copper, lead, zinc & other metals from their ores.
Limewash : Limewash is a traditional method of painting walls with a colour base that allows the masonry to breathe.
Conservation/Heritage : Buildings pre 1900 were built with lime mortar. As a result when they are damaged and in need of repair, it is essential to use the same materials (hydraulic lime mortars, plasters and renders) when doing so. Modern materials are very different and therefore cause considerable damage to heritage buildings.
Iron and Steel Manufacture : Quicklime and dolomitic lime are used mainly for fluxing impurities within the basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS) process. In addition, lime is also used in the desulfurisation of pig iron and is vital in the electric arc steelmaking process.
Wildlife Sanctuary from Old Quarry : Old Lime quarries are restored using inert waste, which often maintain a higher level of biodiversity than the area prior to quarrying. A number of restored quarries are now âNational Nature Reservesâ, âWildlife Sanctuariesâ and âSites of Special Scientific Interestâ.
Asphalt : Hydrated lime is often used as an additive to âhot mix asphaltâ, increasing its overall resistance, strength and stiffness. These properties are of particular importance as asphalt is used to surface busy roads.
Soil Stabilisation : Quicklime can be used to stabilise waterlogged, clay bearing or contaminated land. Improvement of the land occurs when the lime dries out the water bearing materials. This process often converts an unworkable site into a solid working platform for development.
Pharmaceuticals : Lime can be used in the manufacture of many inorganic salts such as Calcium Phosphate. This chemical is then often used as a toothpaste additive.
Plaster : Lime is often added to plaster in order to improve workability, increase cohesion, control setting times, increase water retentivity and increase alkalinity. These properties make lime mortars extremely durable and reliable.
Building Construction : Overall, lime plays an important role in building construction. For example, they are used in the drying, improvement and stabilisation of soils. As a component of mortars, exterior rendering and interior plasters. As an anti-stripping agent in the production of asphalt and tarmac for road construction. As a binder in the productions of bricks, aircrete, fire resistant board and concrete.
Aerated Concrete Blocks : Quicklime is mixed with cement, sand, water and aluminium powder to give a slurry which rises and sets to form honeycomb (aerated) structured blocks, which have excellent thermal and sound insulation properties.
Motor Oil Additives : Certain oil additives (including those used for motor vehicles) are produced by reacting hydrated limes with alkyl phenates or organic sulfonates.
Mortar : Similarly to plasters, lime can also be added to mortar mixes, possessing numerous benefits for the soft and hard characteristics of the final product. Some of these benefits include: higher workability and water retentivity, increased resistance and adhesion, but most importantly the ability to âself healâ!
Chicken Feed : Waste lime from sugar refining plants can be used as one of the ingredients needed to produce vital chicken feed supplements. The supplements are given to the chickens to improve and increase the strength of their egg shells. In general, the supplement is simple, efficient and inexpensive.
Fruit Farming : As apples and other fruit ripen, they emit carbon dioxide. When in storage, the carbon dioxide lowers the level of oxygen in the atmosphere and accelerates the deterioration of fruit. By circulating air around the fruit and over hydrated lime, the level of carbon dioxide is reduced and the fruit remains fresher for longer.
Soil Treatment : Calcium Carbonate, quicklime and hydrated lime can be used to adjust the pH of soils to give optimum growing conditions and hence improve crop yields.
Paper Manufacture : Lime can be used to make fillers and coating products which are used within the paper industry. Hydrated lime is used in the sulphate process during the manufacture of paper and pulp.
Glass Manufacture : Dolomitic and high calcium lime in finely ground forms can be used in the manufacture of glass. The use of lime in the process also reduces the requirement for expensive decolouriser additives.
Acid Neutralization : High purity Calcium can be used for neutralizing many acid reactions in chemical & other industries. Being low cost commodity, it is most widely used acid neutralizer all over world.
Filler Compounds : High end quality of Lime & Limestone powder can be used as a filler compound in various industries such as brake pads & linings, greases & lubricants, paints, adhesives, etc.
Multipurpose Chemical : Besides above, Lime has various other uses in vastly diversified fields of Food, Health, Industrial, Environmental & Chemical purposes.
